There should be no ‘political failure’ that incites unrest

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Tuesday to deliver a final report assessing the safety of the plan to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean. The report states that if contaminated water is released appropriately according to the criteria, there will be no adverse environmental effects. The Japanese government, which has so far stated that it is “around summer,” plans to decide the release date soon. Director General Raphael is scheduled to visit Korea the day after tomorrow and brief the Korean government on the contents of the report.

Since the IAEA has guaranteed the safety of discharge, Japan's release of contaminated water is expected to proceed steadily, but the actual urgency is felt palpable by the Korean government. Right now, the opposition party is planning to find fault with the reliability of the IAEA verification and launch an all-around offensive, such as signature campaigns, outdoor rallies, and away demonstrations. Aiming at the opposition party, the ruling party is continuing to criticize it for spreading horror stories and inciting fear. If the current situation remains unchecked, there are even concerns that the situation 15 years ago, when the country was split in two due to mad cow disease rumors over US beef imports, could be repeated.

It is irresponsible for the opposition party to discredit the results of the IAEA's safety evaluation, which is recognized as an international authority on nuclear power issues. If it is a responsible public party, should they consider scientific opinions not trustworthy, they should give reasons for them, rather than stigmatizing them. Nonetheless, the ruling party's response to going out of its way to drinking the water from the fish tank at the fish market, accusing the opposition party’s claim of being a “ghost story,” is equally pitiful. Instead of alleviating the people's concerns, they should think about whether they are only indirectly spreading ghost stories.

It is true that the government's response so far has also been unreliable as well. Although the government has been briefing daily on the issue of contaminated water, it has been criticized as representing Japan's logic amid the rapid thawing of relations between Korea and Japan. The government initially said it would review both the IAEA report and the results of the South Korean Fukushima inspection team before coming up with countermeasures. Still, the countermeasures are likely to focus on follow-up measures, such as expanding marine surveys and strengthening inspections of aquatic products, on the premise that the contaminated water will be released.

Science is the power to overcome fear. However, as the situation we are facing is the ocean discharge of contaminated nuclear power plant water, which is unprecedented in history, it is difficult to completely address the anxiety caused by the uncertainties, no matter how credible the scientific evaluation is. This may be why the majority of the public expresses apprehensions and concerns, if not fears. The conflict between the opposition parties exacerbating such confusion is like adding fuel to the fire by aggravating fear. It must be remembered that the rampant rumors of mad cow disease in the past were also accompanied by a “political failure.”